Fae's Fate: Fated Mates of the Fae Royals (Summer Court Book 7)

34. Ciara

The Veil parted in the woods near the palace, which was a strange place for us to exit, but it meant we were closer to the spring than if we’d come out by the tower Father had built to contain the doorway. The doorway was useless now anyway, but when Sir Axis fixed the spring, then it would work again. Then Malachi would use it to come home to me.

“This way.” I tugged Sir Axis’s hand forcing my shadows to disappear.

“My dear, if you were in such a hurry to get me to your bedchambers then all you had to do was say so,” Sir Axis drawled.

“I don’t care if you look like Malachi, I’d never have sex with you.”

I let go of his hand trusting Emer and Ivo would make sure he followed me. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere. He was stuck inside the Summer Court now and the only way for Sir Axis to get back to Earth and his people was to help us.

Ivo stepped beside me and whispered, “I’m so happy to hear about you and Malachi.”

I jolted. “You are?”

“Aye, you’re perfect for each other.” She fell back and walked beside Sir Axis.

The palace rose high in a sparkling enchanted display of beauty. It always took my breath away that I lived in such a magical palace.

“I almost forgot how beautiful this place was,” Sir Axis said.

Startled I spun around. “You’ve been here before?”

“Yes, many, many years ago. When your great-grandfather was King of the Fae. His death was such a tragedy by that evil Siren.”

“All deaths are a tragedy,” I said.

“Touche.”

As we walked closer to the palace, I expected Grier to open the door and usher us inside, but he didn’t appear like he usually did. Were we too late? I rushed up to the door, but Emer beat me to it and opened the heavy timber pushing it inside the quiet palace.

“Where is everyone?” I asked glancing left and right.

“The spring, Your Highness,” Emer said reminding me of our mission.

“Aye.”

I sped through the marble hallways of the palace deeper into the heart until we entered the atrium. The place was usually full of an abundance of fluffy white blooms hanging from the ceiling, but now the flowers were brown, the plants hanging limp as though struggling for life. A sickly yellow moss-covered the rocks. The slow trickle of the spring sent panic through every inch of my body. Each step was like knives slicing my skin.

Shoving back the thoughts of my father, for I couldn’t bear to think he might already be dead, I motioned Sir Axis over to the water.

“Fix it, please,” I pleaded.

Inch by inch as though time meant nothing to him, Sir Axis walked to the edge of the spring. His hands disappeared into the water as though the water swallowed them whole and ate them. Was it too late? Had everything been for nothing? My throat closed over. Would I die now not having marked Malachi as mine while in the presence of a man who appeared like him but wasn’t him?

“Please,” I croaked.

Sir Axis turned and winked at me before his hands glowed a luminous blue lighting up the entire atrium in an ethereal glow. The water turned a vibrant blue. The rocks beneath shone blue. Even the dying plants turned blue. Did I look blue too? Sir Axis wasn’t blue. I peered at Emer and Ivo and they weren’t blue either. Whatever Sir Axis was doing, it only affected the spring and its surroundings.

He mumbled under his breath as time stretched while he worked his magic. By degrees, the trickle of the spring grew faster. Even more slowly, the strength of the spring intensified. Breathing became easier as the fear that had a choke hold on me eased. The Water Sprite Master was fixing our spring. I’d hoped he would, but I’d never expected he could. I’d thought something had doomed us even though I’d pretended I was certain we’d find a cure. I hadn’t been certain.

My hand searched for my best friend who was always by my side, but right now when I wanted to share the wonder of the spring coming back to life, he wasn’t here. He wasn’t with me to share in this joyous moment. Pain flared in my heart so intense I staggered to the nearest boulder and sat heavily.

Sir Axis stared at me, his form wavered in and out of focus and then he was him again, but now the sight of him wasn’t unwelcome. He’d saved us.

“Thank you,” I said pushing the word out through my tight throat filled with emotion.

He winked and turned back to the spring. His power didn’t stop fixing our ailments. Soon the blue eased back from the flowering blooms revealing them in their fluffy whiteness once more. Then the blue faded from the rocks and the water leaving them clear to the eye. The water flowed so forcefully I sensed it in every part of my Fae being he’d fixed it.

Sir Axis stood with a flourish and held his hand out to me. I placed my palm in his and let him haul me to my feet.

“You did it,” I said with awe.

“I’m offended you didn’t think I could fix my mistake.” He placed my palm against his chest. “How about a thank you kiss at least?”

“Could and would are two very different things.” I squished my lips together. “What do you mean by your mistake?”

“A slip of the tongue.”

“From what I’ve seen of you, you don’t make mistakes.”

“Ah, sweet princess.”

“Tell me now.” I tugged on my hand, but he held it steadfast against his chest.

“I merely wanted your father to come out of hiding. I didn’t expect this plan of Saltine’s to go to this extreme.”

“Saltine? What does she have to do with our spring?”

“She did nothing to your spring.”

“So it was you! You tricked me into believing you were helping us when you were the one who caused the problem to start with.”

“There is more at stake here.”